Paul Janensch: Scaramucci — will he do the fandango?

By Paul Janensch

Published 12:00 am, Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

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Anthony Scaramucci answers reporters’ questions during the daily White House press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House Friday in Washington, D.C. White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer quit after it was announced that Trump hired Scaramucci, a Wall Street financier and longtime supporter, to the position of White House communications director. less

Anthony Scaramucci answers reporters’ questions during the daily White House press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House Friday in Washington, D.C. White House Press Secretary Sean ... more

Photo: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Paul Janensch: Scaramucci — will he do the fandango?

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Instead of just communicating, the White House communications office last week was the target of news coverage.

Bringing Scaramucci aboard reflects Trump’s unhappiness with the way he is being covered by the media.

Most conservative commentators sing Trump’s praises. But news stories play up investigations of his election campaign’s contacts with Russians. Trump calls that “fake news.”

Trump evidently thinks more skillful messaging from the White House would result in positive news coverage.

I bet Scaramucci, known as “The Mooch,” will be the most visible and most quoted member of Trump’s administration after only the president himself.

His family name comes from the Italian word that means “skirmish.” How appropriate.

We are familiar with Spicer from his contentious press briefings and with Sanders, who took over the briefings, usually without cameras.

Spicer, 45, quit after a rough six months and a day, during which he was contradicted by fact-checking journalists, blind-sided by presidential tweets and mocked on “Saturday Night Live.”

Sanders, 34, is the daughter of Mike Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas and a former candidate for the Republican presidential nomination. She and her husband Bryan Sanders founded a political consulting firm.

Scaramucci, 53, grew up on Long Island. His father was a construction worker. With a law degree from Harvard, he went to Goldman Sachs, then started his own investment fund.

He raised money for Democrats and liberal causes, switching to Scott Walker and Jeb Bush in their quests for the Republican presidential nomination.

In 2015, he called Trump “another hack politician.” But soon he signed on with Trump, whom he knew from attending the same parties in New York.

Although new to managing communications, Scaramucci hosted a financial television show and has frequently defended Trump on Fox News.

When he appeared before the White House press corps last week, Scaramucci came across as smooth and friendly.

He said Trump is “a winner” and apologized for calling him a “hack.” He even blew a kiss to the reporters.

Sunday, the new director of communications, appeared on TV public affairs programs. Smilingly aggressive, he echoed Trump’s complaint about “fake news” and said he wants to reset the relationship between the White House and the media.

In the song “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the British rock band Queen asks, “Scaramouche! Scaramouche! Will you do the fandango?” (Scaramouche is a buffoon in Italian drama.)

Twitter users posted the question: “Scaramucci! Scaramucci! Will you do the fandango?”

Doing the fandango — a lively dance with castanets — in front of cameras at press briefings might distract the news media from the Russia investigations.

Paul Janensch of Bridgeport was a newspaper editor and taught journalism at Quinnipiac University. His weekly “Memo on the Media” can be heard at wqun.com. Email: paul.janensch@quinnipiac.edu.